Blood Pressure

( Please also see pages on Cholesterol & Clogged arteries )

Blood Pressure is a common disease as person ages. Doctors tend to prescribe medicine to control it while changes in lifestyle can control it. Once on medication, one gets addicted to it. My Blood Pressure at age 40 was 130/90 and I was told to take Beta Blocker 25mg. The dose was increased to 50 mg when I was 50. When I was in 60s I had fluctuating Blood Pressure, some times going as high as 180/100. More medicines were added and I ended up taking 4 different drugs to keep Blood Pressure under 120/80. Now at the age of 80+ I have started reducing dosage by half by following a regimented life. I hope to discontinue all allopathic medicines by this year end. I have changed to some herbal medicines which helped in reducing dosage of allopathic medicine.

Primary Blood Pressure can be controlled without medicine. In case of secondary Blood Pressure caused by some other ailment, it is to be treated differently.Normal Blood Pressure is 120/80 with the upper number 120 being the pressure at the end of heart beat called systolic , the lower number 80 called diastolic is the pressure at the beginning of heart beat. If Blood Pressure is 140/90 or above it is termed Hypertension. Hardening of arteries with age is the main cause of High Blood Pressure. Lifestyle and dietary habits can prevent hardening of arteries. Narrowing of arteries because of formation of plaques is another cause of high Blood Pressure. Herbal supplements are available to unclog plaques and arrest rise in Blood Pressure. I suggest that alternative medicine should be considered as first line of treatment.

There are 4 main chemicals in allopathy to control Blood Pressure but each one has side effects .

These are sold under different brand names and doctors change it from one to another brand , which gives satisfaction to a patients if previous brand is not working..

A Doctor`s view on Blood Pressure from Lybrate.com

Manage Blood Pressure (Hypertension) : Natural way

Hypertension or high blood pressure, as it is more commonly known, is regarded as the silent killer. The fast pace of life and the mental and physical pressures caused by industrial and metropolitan environments give rise to psychological tensions. Worry and mental tension increase the adrenaline in the blood stream and this; turn causes the pressure of blood to rise. The most important causes of hypertension are stress and faulty style of living. Hardening of the arteries, obesity, diabetes, and severe constipation also lead hypertension. Other causes of high blood pressure are excessive intake of pain-killer, tablets, salt, food allergy, and eating a high-fat, low fiber diet and processed foods, deficient in essential nutrients. Drugs do not remove a cause, nor do they cure the condition. All drugs against hypertension without some are toxic and have distressing side-effects.

Treatment by Natural way: Diet is primary & important. Vegetable like cucumber, carrot, tomato, onion, radish, cabbage and spinach are best taken in raw form. The intake of salt should be restricted; in any case it should not be taken more then four grams or half a teaspoon per day. Baking powder, contains sodium carbonate should also be avoided. Juices & fruits , butter milk , coconut water , soya /cow milk , steamed vegetables , salad , sprouts of lentils, vegetable soup are good for HB , consider Diet is your medicine. Meditation, Yogic Postures like pavanmuktasana, uttanpadasan and shavasana help , Yoga, regular exercise, proper sleep, cool temperament and relaxation though hobbies of your choice help in reducing HB Vitamin C , Zinc , garlic , onion , food with high fiber, calcium are essential in HB